Jonathan Coulton

So it looks like the main Baby Got Back storm is dying down, or at least working it’s way out from blogs to other media. I’ll be doing an interview for the Small World Podcast that I think will air next week, and I’ve been asked to do a phone interview with a radio station in Montreal. I’ll let you know when I have the deets on that. Oh, and I’ll be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tomorrow night – kidding! Just a joke.

Thanks to everyone who came out to hear me last night, and thanks especially to Bryan Dunn and Lara Ewen for inviting me to share the stage with them. Tonight is another Little Gray Books lecture: “How to Prepare a Manuscript for Publication.” I’ll be doing a little background music for John Hodgman as he reads from his book (The Areas of My Expertise) to be published October 24th. And in the second half a really excellent musician and songwriter named Cynthia Hopkins will do a little set. She has the most beautiful voice and she plays the accordion and the saw. The saw!

Oh yeah, does anyone know a good mailing list plugin for WordPress?

Just a reminder: I’m playing tonight at 8:45 at the Apocalypse Lounge, 189 East 3rd St. between A + B. If you are over 30 and you have a child, you are excused. Otherwise, let’s boogie.

This Baby Got Back thing is going crazy. A couple of interesting stats:

15,000 unique visitors over the weekend, 12,000 just yesterday
162 Gigs of data yesterday
47,000 hits on the mp3 itself
Actual airplay on KTCK in Dallas (thanks Gordon!)

It’s a little overwhelming. It’s been a full time job just managing my inbox (good I thing I quit the job, huh?). What’s been really interesting for me is trying to manage what’s happening and ultimately realizing that I can’t. When something like this gets out there it’s gone, like that Gourds cover of Gin and Juice that everybody thinks is Phish. People will consume this song however they want. Some of them will come to my site, some will just grab the mp3 and never give it a second thought. Some people think I’m a band, some people think I do only covers, some people think I just stole this idea from the Gourds, or Ben Folds, or whoever else (note to the haters: no shit Sherlock). But I really believe this is how it should be, or at any rate, how it must be. I suspect that the internet is here to stay (and you can quote me on that).

And I want to read (by which I mean control) every single post about me and this song. I’m grateful for all the extra traffic and there’s no question at all that it’s a HUGE net positive, but I still find myself wanting to micromanage every posting so that it’s presented with the correct amount of humility and irony and redirection. I cringe when I think about the thousands of people who follow a direct link to the mp3 and never get to the other stuff. Link to the post! Link to the post! And I’m kicking myself for not having a press kit, not having a way to buy so many of these songs, not having a prominent enough donation link, etc., etc. I even allowed Smoking Monkey to sell out at CD Baby. Coulton, you idiot!

But I do have a bank account ready to receive a check for one million dollars. Send it any time.

Got one more solo last night, just under the wire. This is Matt on the geetar: link

And I also put Vincent’s solo in the right place and go figure, sounds better: link

Now it is time for the voting, the backroom deals, and the inevitable tears. The poll is posted in the sidebar over there on the right, and will be open until I post this week’s thing which will be sometime Friday AM. Good luck everyone, and thanks so much for taking the time to submit a solo. This was really fun.

Two more came in this weekend. Get ready. Here are:

Mike

and

Vincent

Anyone else want to submit, you have until I post the poll tomorrow. I think we’ll vote until Friday and I’ll announce the winner when I post next week’s thing. Thanks to everyone who’s sent something in, I love them all and I’m glad it’s not me who has to choose.

Update: I have screwed up the placement of Vincent’s solo – he sent me an mp3 with it in the correct context and it’s much better. I will fix it first thing in the morning, and then I will hang my head in shame until at least lunch.